Arboretum Hours

Prices

Location

Our campus in Merion, originally purchased by Dr. Barnes and his wife Laura in 1922, features a Paul Philippe Cret designed home and gallery surrounded by a 12-acre Arboretum.

The entire arboretum can be easily walked in a visit, its magnificent collection, astonishingly large and diverse for the size of the property, is worth lingering over: 3,000 unusual species of woody plants, including collections of Stewartia, Aesculus, Phellodendron, Clethra, Magnolia, Viburnum, and Lilac, as well as 40 state champion trees. Other collections include roses, peonies, hostas, medicinal plants, and over 200 hardy ferns. Made up of her favorite types of plants, the collection was also assembled by Mrs. Barnes specifically for teaching purposes. A herbarium of more than 10,000 specimens complements the living collection and is available to the Foundation's horticulture students and other scholars by appointment.